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prayers to him and his family. hope he has a speedy recovery. oh and as usual you get some classless pieces of **** from cleveland, etc laughing about this on the day care boards at espn.com...........

An early morning kitchen fire left Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson hospitalized with severe burns on Friday as the football team prepared for its first-round playoff game in Denver.

"It's a very unfortunate situation. We're keeping him in our prayers and hope things aren't worse off for him," said linebacker James Farrior, who called Wilson a part of the team's family. "It definitely put things in perspective. Football is not everything. Life is fragile -- that's a proper perspective."

Neighbors said Wilson, 50, was "totally out of it" when they pounded on the front door of his home on Jameson Way in Seven Fields just before 3 a.m. and coaxed him outside.

"He opened the door. All this smoke came out. He was all bloody. He kept saying, 'I'm OK. I'm OK,'" said next-door neighbor Dave Van Atta, 25. "He just had boxers on. His foot was just, like, melted. ... He was in shock. You could tell he was totally out of it.
"I just saw his whole kitchen on fire," he said.

Paramedics took Wilson to UPMC Cranberry, then by helicopter to UPMC Mercy, Uptown, according to Cranberry public safety director Jeffrey Schueler. Wilson's condition was not known last night, but neighbors described severe burns across his arms and legs.

"He walked out himself," said neighbor James McCaffery. "His hands were peeled from here to here," he said, pointing to one of his wrists. "His feet were peeled."
No one else was in the home at the time of the blaze, authorities said. The fire marshal from the Butler barracks of the state police is investigating the blaze and had not determined a cause as of last night.

The blackened hood of Wilson's kitchen stove, a few chairs and a pair of burned doors lay in the townhouse's backyard hours after the fire.

"First and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with Kirby and his entire family," Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a written statement. "We are saddened to hear about this unfortunate situation but we know that he has the best medical care in the country treating him. The entire organization is praying for Kirby to have a full recovery and we will be by his side through this difficult time."

Steelers players were told of the fire at a 9 a.m. team meeting.
"We really don't know what's going on," said running back John Clay. "He's a great guy. He's helped me out in the meeting and stays late to help me with film."
Other players, including Charlie Batch, took to Twitter.

"Our thoughts & prayers are with you & your family Coach Kirb," Batch tweeted.
In Denver, where the Steelers will play on Sunday, members of the Broncos offered thoughts and prayers for Wilson.

"We're all hoping for the best," quarterback Tim Tebow told the Tribune-Review.
Wilson has coached running backs for the Steelers for five years, according to the team. He previously held the same job with the Arizona Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A Los Angeles native, he played college football at Pasadena Community College and the University of Illinois before spending two seasons in the Canadian Football League as a defensive back and kick returner.

Wilson began his coaching career in 1985 at Pasadena Community College. He has five children.

"Coach is a smart dude who always wears a smile and motivates his guys," Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey said. "He's that coach that everyone likes. Hopefully, everything will turn out right. He's in all of our prayers. ... Hopefully we'll see him one day soon."

Offensive assistant Harold Goodwin will take over Wilson's duties in Sunday's game.

Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson remains hospitalized after being severely burned during an early morning fire on Jan. 6 at his home in a Pittsburgh suburb.

Wilson’s family issued the following statement on his condition on Tuesday, Jan. 17:

“Mr. Kirby Wilson remains in critical condition in the Trauma Burn Center at UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh. In addition to burns sustained over 45 percent of his body, he has suffered a smoke inhalation injury and will require multiple operative procedures in the future.”

The 50-year-old Wilson, in his fifth season with the Steelers is an original member of Mike Tomlin’s inaugural coaching staff.

Wilson is from Los Angeles, and he played running back and wide receiver at Illinois before playing briefly in the Canadian Football League. He had coached running backs with four different NFL teams – New England, Washington, Arizona and Tampa Bay – before coming to the Steelers when Tomlin hired him in 2007.

Wilson is known by all who work for the Steelers as a man with a ready smile and a pleasant demeanor regardless of the circumstances. As a coach, he is known to his players as a tireless worker and a high-energy guy who is demanding yet fair.

At this point his status is clearly up in the air for 2011. Recovery time for this, considering he's still in critical condition, is going to be quite awhile. Once he gets out of the hospital it will be months before he's ready to do anything football related I'm sure.

His long term health is more important, and after this he may just decide to resign. Hopefully that's not the case it I wouldn't be surprised if it is.